Ahh, Retirement!

When you teach, the official start of summer is when you turn in your room key. I turned mine in yesterday. There was the last staff meeting with the usual kudos for the great job, and “this is not for everyone, if you’re not suited for this it’s time to move on”. I was suited for this, for a while, but it is time to move on, to move into something that is for the long haul.

This has been my assignment for the past 3 years. It was a middle school converted to an alternative education program.

The desks were neat and the floor swept, ready for a respite until fall.

The room was empty as I turned out the lights. All the books were packed away on the shelves. The board was cleaned for the last time. The posters had been not taken down and rolled up for storage this time, but thrown in the recycling bin. You leave with no regrets. You know that through the year you have encountered some lost souls. There are those who have entered the doorway that will not have that opportunity in the fall because they will be either deceased or incarcerated. Yet, in the next vein, there are six students that will be starting new phases of their lives, either college, or job, because without our program, they would not be graduating. You have to focus on the positive.

This is Dr. Jo W. whose room was across the hall from mine. She was always calm and smiling.

There was a lot of laughter between us.

I’ve always told Mick that home is where ever he is. For the moment and for a few more months, it’s still Charlotte. This weekend, we’re relaxing and reiterating the fact to each other that we are RETIRED. To use the current catch word, it’s “amazing”. We’ll shop, go to dinner, have coffee, sit on the deck and talk about Cuenca. There’s always the next phase of the journey.

Until next time,

Mick and Kathy